There are numerous disorders or diseases which affect the back of a patient in varying degrees, from a mild abnormal variation to severe, crippling and functional disablement. The term "scoliosis" has been applied to a group of such disorders and there are numerous varieties of scoliosis having different causes, some resulting from diseases and others being symptomatic of muscular weakness. The common, obvious manifestation of scoliosis is lateral curvature of the spine, usually compound curvature, and in the more severe cases the afflicted patient is unable to walk or even to sit up. In other cases, the patient who is ambulatory can be assisted by mechanical support such as the "Milwaukee Brace" which has been used for several years.
There are also other musculo-skeletal disorders which affect the spine or muscular structure of the upper body and particularly the back and which can be functionally disabling such as lordoctic or kyphotic skeletal anomalies. These will not be discussed in any detail, being well known to medical practitioners.
A common characteristic of advanced progressions of these illnesses is that the patient cannot sit, walk or move about normally, and sometimes not at all, resulting in progressive degradation of muscle tone and other body functions, requiring considerable care and assistance, and also resulting in severe and possibly irreparable psychological harm.
Various padded beds and wheelchairs have been devised to assist such patients and to give them degree of comfort and mobility. These have, generally speaking, not differed significantly from conventional wheelchairs except in the degree of padding and in providing extra support for the head or trunk.
They have, however, not been specifically adaptable to the necks of individual patients and have not been adjustable in such a way that a treating physician can prescribe sets of forces or supports for a patient in such a way that the supports and forces can be applied to the patient by, for example, a physical therapist.
Examples of prior art devices and some discussions of the problems are found in the following documents.
Medical Equipment Distributors, Inc. "Other Chairs for Children" PA1 Herman L. Kamenetz, M.D., "The Wheelchair Book", Mobility for the Disabled, 1969, ED. PA1 Robert J. Trotter, "Preventing the Curve", Science News, Vol. 115, pgs. 298,299 and 302, May 5, 1979
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